Road joint mechanism with void forming unit



Jan. 14, 1936. R. R. ROBERTSON 2,027,553

ROAD JOINT MECHANISM WITH VOID FORMING UNIT Filed Nov. 17, 1933 s Sheefs-Sheet 1 .ZTQJ 4 1: w 1a 217.4 5 25F 20 era 2?? faefs'afl.

1936 R. R. ROBERTSON ROAD JOINT MECHANISM WITH VOID FORMING.UNIT

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IWFEI Patented Jan. 14, 1936 ROAD JOINT MECHANISM WITH VOID FORMING UNIT Robert R. Robertson, Chicago, Ill., assignor to The Translode Joint Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application November 17, 1933, Serial No. 698,437

31 Claims. (01. 94-18) This invention relates to an improved type of a road joint forming mechanism and more particularly to an improved type of a void forming unit which normally carries supports which are adapted to be left partially embedded in the concrete after the removal of the various members comprising the void forming unit, in order that the remaining supports may serve to hold an arched hood or cap near the upper end of the a road joint forming mechanism including a load transmission base having a void forming unit removably supported thereon with said void forming unit carrying supporting members which are adapted to be released to remain in the concrete when the core unit parts are removed to afiord a support for a closure member upon which a filler of expansible material is adapted to be engaged to close the crack between road sections.

10 void to receive and support a filling of pliable It is an important object of this invention to material to fill the resultant crack left between provide an improved type of road joint forming adjacent section's of the road. mechanism including a transmission load base It is an object of this invention to provide a section and a removable void forming core unit road joint forming mechanism including a base supported thereon, said base section having a member and a removable void forming unit supclosure means forming a part thereof for closing 15 ported thereon, said void forming unit including one end of the void forming core unit while the a cap having a depending web for holding void void forming core unit has temporarily engaged forming plates in proper spaced relation with the therewith supporting members which are adapted aid of spacing ribs provided on the inner surfaces t be released and left partly projected in the of the plates for coaction with the depending web concrete when the void forming core unit parts 20 0f the Core Closure pare removed to leave a void between concrete It is another object of this invention to provide sections of d t th d n d t, one aroad joint forming mechanism including a base end by th l r means forming part, f th and a removable void forming unit including base and furthermore permitting closure 5 spaced plates, aremovable cap on said plates, and her t be engaged on t supporting members anfmd Closure for one end of the Void forming left in the concrete to close the upper portion of unit. the void a short distance below the top surface 15 a further oblect of thls to of the concrete to leave a crack for the reception an Improved type of mad Jomt forming of an expansible material which serves as a filler 2f) mechanism including a load transmis base which is compressible or expansible with the resectlon and Vmd q g core fl removamy spective expansion or contraction of the concrete supported thereon, with said core unit, when in road Sections due to temperature changes 9 at end means an Other and further important objects of this in- Justabl? .closure umt carnted by one of the vention will be apparent from the disclosures in so transmission load shoes forming part of the base the specification and the accompanying drawings it fl s ifir t l i e n i r aii object of this invention The invention (in preferred form) is musto provide a road joint forming mechanism with g iig ig drawings and hereinafter more fully a load transmission base section having a remov- 0 th m 40 able void forming core unit supported thereon n e aw g 40 with one end of the core unit closed by an ad- Figure 1 is fragments? top plat} of justable closure forming part of the base section. @ncrete mad having road Joint .formmg Another object of the invention is to provide msms embedded transverse1y m the f at a road joint forming mechanism comprising a spaced intervi}ls and dy ng the principles base section having load transmission shoes of t mvemlon- 45 shiftably mounted therein with one of the shoes Flgure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertlcal having an adjustable closure adapted to abut detail section taken 9 line of Figure 1 against one end of a removable void forming with the Concrete Omittedcore unit, the parts of which are removable after ur 3 1s a horizontal detail view taken on the pouring of concrete to leave a void between line III-III of Figure 2 to show the void form- 50 concrete sections, the ends of said void being closed by the adjustable closure means which is carried by one of the load transmission shoes of the base section.

It is also an object of the inventionto provide ing core unit and the end closure therefor in section.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary detail view taken on line IV-IV of Fi ure 2.

Figure 5 is a vertical detail section taken on line V--V of Figure 2 showing the concrete portions of the road in position.

Figure 6 is a similar vertical sectional view after the void forming core unit has been removed leaving the angle members partially embedded in the concrete sections to support a closure cap and a filler of plastic material in position to close the upper portion of the void formed between the concrete sections of the road.

Figure 7 is a horizontal sectional view similar to that illustrated in Figure 3 but illustrating a. modified form of base member for initially holding the load transmission shoes in reverse staggered relation spaced with respect to one another instead of being adjacent to one another as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view of a modified from of road joint forming mechanism having a void forming core unit similar to that illustrated in Figures 1 to 6 inclusive but being provided with a plurality of individual spaced sections spaced with respect to one another with each of said sections comprising an individual load transmission shoe which is shiftably engaged in an individual base section or socket.

Figure 9 is a perspective view of one of the load transmission shoes for use in the road joint forming mechanism shown in Figure 8.

Figure 10 is an enlarged perspective view of the adjustable end closure mechanism for the joint void forming unit associated with a fragmentary portion of the load transmission base unit indicated in dotted lines and showing where the flange plate I6 is brazed to the web l2.

Figure 11 is a fragmentary side elevation of the lower portion of the modifled form of road joint mechanism illustrated in Figure 7.

Figure 12 is a fragmentary transverse detail section of the modified form of road joint mechanism illustrated in Figure 8.

As shown on the drawings:

The reference numeral l indicates the subgrade of a concrete road upon which the concrete upper or crown section forming part of the road is supported. The upper or crown section of the road is formed with av longitudinal center joint 2 and with transversely disposed expansion joints 3. The center joint and the transverse joints of the upper section of the concrete road divide the same into a plurality of adjacently positioned concrete sections 4 which are permitted to expand and contract with temperature changes.

The improved road joint former is of the load transmission type embodying the principles of this invention and adapted for use in a concrete construction for the purpose of providing suitable expansion and contractionjoints between diiferent sections of the construction, and further affords means whereby adjacent sections of the construction are interconnected by means of the load transmission anchoring members or shoes forming part of the base of the device, said joint forming mechanism also serving as a means for affording an improved form of a removable core for forming expansion spaces or voids in the construction and temporarily carrying supporting members which are left partly embedded in the concrete to project into the voids for the support of upper closure means in the void near the top surface of the concrete construction.

The base section of the joint former serves as a load transmission unit between adjacent sections of the concrete construction or road and comprises an elongated base member consisting of a solid base plate 5 constructed of sheet metal or other, suitable material. The longitudinalmargins of the base plate 5 are bent upwardly and then inwardly toward one another to form oppositely positioned guide sections or channels 6. The channel portions 8 of the base member provide oppositely positioned guide grooves 'l. The top'flanges of the channel members 6 are spaced apart to provide a longitudinal top opening in the base section of the device. As clearly illustrated in Figure 3, the margins of the top flanges of the channel members 6 are provided with spaced notches 8 leaving projections or teeth 9 between the notches. The longitudinal margins of the teeth 9 are bent upwardly at right angles to form stop flanges Ill. As clearly illustrated in Figure 3 the notches and stop flanges ID on one side of the longitudinal middle opening of the base section are staggered with respect to those on the opposite side so that a notch on one side of the opening is positioned directly opposite a stop flange ID on the opposite side. This arrangement affords staggered stop flanges for the opposite sides of a core unit hereinafter described and also affords staggered notches for the reception of load transmission shoe units having upright flanges also adapted to be positioned in staggered relation on opposite sides of the core unit. The grooved or channel base section is provided in a required length which may be half of the width of the road or less, if preferred. In the present showing the channel base member is adapted to be positioned transversely upon the road sub-grade I and extends from the center joint 2 outwardly to the side margin of the concrete construction or road.

The load transmitting unit forming part of the base section consists of a plurality of anchor shoes or holder sections which are movably or shiftably engaged in the base section and are arranged longitudinally in the base section in offset or staggered relation with respect to one another. The anchor shoes or holders are of substantially identical construction and are ar ranged with the adjacent shoes reversed with respect to one another as clearly illustrated in Figures 3 and 5. Each of the anchor shoes is constructed of metal and comprises an angle bar including a base flange II and an upright flange or web l2 integral with said base flange. The upper portion of the upright flange or web I2 of each of the anchor shoes is cut inwardly from each end to provide the inclined edges l3 and the material above the cuts is bent outwardly to provide a pair of anchoring blades or wings H. The anchoring blades l4 project outwardly from one side of the web l2 leaving the opposite side of the web flat as clearly illustrated in Figures 5 and 6.

The anchoring shoes are transversely shiftable or slidably mounted within the grooved base section with adjacent shoes reversed with respect to one another so that the anchoring blades or wings I4 project outwardly leaving the flat sides of the upright webs or flanges of the anchoring shoes facing inwardly. As clearly illustrated in Figure 3, the anchoring shoes are staggered with respect to one another so that the upright flanges I2 thereof may be seated in the notches 8 of the top flanges of the base section allowing the flat surfaces of the upright flanges l2 to line up with the upright stop flanges l0 and be positioned to the outside and on opposite sides of the void forming core unit which will hereinafter be more fully described.

The outermost anchoring shoe, that is the one adjacent the side of the road, has connected therewith a closure means for closing the outer end of the void forming core unit and the outer end of the void resulting from the removal of the core unit after the pouring of concrete to 'form the upper or crown section of a road. The

closure means comprises a primary closure plate it: having one side margin thereof bent at an angle to provide a flange It a portion of which is brazed or otherwise rigidly secured on the flat side of the upright flange l2 of the end anchor shoe with the lower margin of the main closure plate i abutting against the outer end of the base flange i l of the end anchor shoe. The upper portion of the attaching flange it of the closure member is cut downwardly and the material to the outside of the cut is bent outwardly at an angle to provide an anchoring blade or wing H as illustrated in Figure 4 to be embedded in the section of the concrete in which the anchoring blades of the end anchor shoe are also embedded. Slidably engaged on the main closure plate 95 is an auxiliary closure plate It the outer end of which is bent over against the outer side of the main closure plate E5 to form a guide pocket in which the end of the main closure plate i5 is adapted to slide. The inner margin of the auxiliary slide plate H3 is bent at an angle to provide a flange portion it which in turn has a portion thereof bent at 'an angle to provide a stop flange which, as clearly illustrated in Figure-3, is adapted to be projected into the outer end of the void forming core unit of the device.

The void forming core unit comprises a pair of sheet-metal plates 2i having spacing flanges or ribs 22 rigidly secured transversely from top to bottom of the inner surfaces of the plate. The spacing ribs 22 on the inner side of one of the core plates are offset or staggered with respect to the spacing ribs on the opposite plate. The lower margins or ends of the core plates rest upon the base flanges ii of the anchor shoes and are positioned adjacent the inner straight faces of the upright flanges it of the anchor shoes and in contact with the upright stop flanges ill of the base section.

As shown in Figure 4, each of the core plates M is deflected inwardly a short distance from the upper margin thereof to aflord a shoulder 23. Engaged against the outer surfaces of the upper margins of the core plates 2i and seated on the shoulders 23 are the upright flanges 26 of angle members having outwardly projecting base flanges 25. As clearly illustrated in Figures 2 and 6, the base flanges 25 of the angle members are indented at spaced intervals to provide downwardly projecting detents or beads 26 for the purpose of assisting in rigidly holding the base flanges of the angle members securely embedded in concrete, portions of which are adapted to seat in the cavities or depressions afforded by the detents or beads 28.

For the purpose of releasably holding the angle members 2 l25 seated against opposite sides of the top margins of the core unit formed by the plates M, a U-cross sectioned hood or channel cap 211 is removably engaged on the upper end of the core unit and over the upright flanges 2d of the angle members to irictionally hold the angle members temporarily clamped in position to form a part of the removable core unit. As shown in Figure 2, one end of the channel cap 21 is provided with an end closure flap or plate 28 which is disposed to the outside of the upper margins of the main end closure plate l5 for the core unit. The main closure plate Hi, together with the end flap 28 of the cap, serves to close the outer end of the core unit to prevent the entrance of concrete therein. Integrally formed in or rigidly secured to the interior of the intermediate plate forming part of the closure channel or cap 21 is a centrally-disposed web or middle plate 29 which projects out of the channel or cap downwardly between the core side plate 28 to within a short distance of the base flanges M of the transmission load anchor shoes. The depending web 29 of the cap unit projects downwardly between the spacing ribs 22 of the respective side plates to hold the side plates in proper spaced relation with respect to-one another and against the straight surfaces of the upright flanges E2 of the anchor shoes forming part of the base unit. I

The base section of the road j in forming mechanism is adapted to be placed in position upon the road sub-grade i as illustrated in Figure 5 and the complete core or void forming unit including a pair of the angle members 26-25 is supported on the base flanges it of the transmission load shoes between the upright flanges l2 thereof. With the void forming unit supported in the staggered anchor or transmission load shoes of the base unit, the end closure unit mounted on the outer end of the outermost anchor shoe is in the position illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 to close the outer end of the void forming unit.

With the complete road joint former in position on the sub-grade, concrete is poured upon the sub-grade on opposite sides of the joint forming mechanism to embed the various members thereof. After the concrete has been allowed to set a desired amount, the closure cap 2? together with the depending spacer plate 29 thereof is pulled upwardly out of the concrete leaving the angle members ZL-Zfl with the base flanges 25 thereof embedded in the concrete and with the upright flanges 2d projecting into the void or expansion space formed in the concrete by the removal of the core cap. With the separating or spacer plate 29 removed from between the side plates of the core unit, the side plates 2i having the spacer ribs 22 thereof staggered with respect to one another are permitted to be loosened from the concrete and moved into the void and pulled upwardly out of the void.

It will be noted that with the removal of the core cap and the side body plates of the core unit that the transmission load base unit as well as the angle members til-25 are left in position in the concrete and that an expansion void or spaceBJ (Figure 6) is provided between the concrete sections t.

It will also be noted that with the removal of the core cap and the core side plate that the interfitting or telescoping end closure plates l5 and 08 remain in position with the flanges l9 and 20 of the auxiliary closure plate it projecting into the end of the void 3d.

After the removal of the void forming core unit, the upright flanges 2d of the angle members are bent inwardly toward one another as illustrated in Figure 6 to permit the longitudinal margins of an arched hood or cap M to be supported on the angle members. The arched hood or cap 3| is constructed of copper or galvanized sheet steel or of any other selected material. The upper crack or space left between the concrete sections 4 above the compressible hood or cap 3| is filled with a plastic material, such as asphalt or the like, which fills the space above the cap to form a compressible and expansible filler "block '32.

Figure 7 illustrates a modified form of road joint forming mechanism of substantially the same construction as that illustrated and described in connection with Figures 1 to 6 inclusive. In the modified form of device shown in Figure 7, however, the base section differs from I that illustrated in Figures 1 to 6 and comprises a base plate 33 constructed of sheet metal with the side margins bent upwardly and then inwardly toward oneanother to provide top flanges 34 which project toward one another leaving a space between the adjacent edges of the flanges. The edges of the top flanges 34 are each provided with a plurality of anchor shoereceiving notches or recesses 35. The length of the sections left between the notches 35 is longer than the length of the notches and provides teeth or projections 36 the longitudinal free margins of which are bent upwardly to form stop flanges 31. With the length of the stop flanges 31 being greater than the length of the notches for the reception of the anchor shoes it will be noted that when the anchor shoes are engaged in the base section in reversed staggered relation as shown in Figure 7,. that the anchor shoes will have the adjacent ends thereof spaced apart instead of in contact with one another as shown in Figure 3. The remaining parts of the road joint forming mechanism of the type illustrated in Figure 7 are identical with the parts illustrated and described in connection with Figures 1 to 6 and are designated with the corresponding reference numerals used in Figures 1 to 6.

Figures 8 and 9 illustrate another modified form of road joint forming mechanism in which each of the anchoring shoes is provided with an individual base section so that a plurality-of reversed or staggered anchoring units are provided for the support of a removable void forming core unit.

Each of the anchoring units comprises a base envelope or socket 38 open only along one of the longitudinal margins thereof for the slidable or shiftable reception of an anchoring shoe. As clearly illustrated in Figure 9, each of the anchoring shoe units is adapted to be stamped out of sheet metal and then bent into form or, if desired, the anchoring shoe may be constructed of a flat bar or strap steel. stamped out of sheet metal is stamped in the form of a rectangular frame comprising two longitudinal members connected by end members.

The longitudinal members are bent intermediate the ends thereof at substantially right angles in two places to form an open base 39 and an open anchoring frame or head 40 with the ends of the side members of the anchoring frame connected to the ends of the side members of the base section 33 by means of the upright connecting bars or arms 4|. As shown in Figure 8 the basesection 39 of the anchoring shoe is slidably engaged in the open end of the base envelope or socket 38. The anchoring units are positioned in spaced relation with respect to one another in reversed staggered relation and afford supports for a removable void forming unit of the type illustrated and described in connection with Figures 1 to 6 inclusive of the drawings. The parts of the void forming core unit are numbered to corre- The anchoring shoe when spend with the similar parts of the core unit shown in Figure 3.

In the form of the device illustrated in Figure 8, the void forming core unit is supported on the anchoring units after which the concrete is poured to embed the anchoring units and be deposited on opposite sides of the void forming core. After the proper setting of the concrete the core unit is removed leaving a void between the concrete sections. The upper end of the void may be closed similarly to the arrangement illustrated and described in connection with Figure 6.

When expansion of the road sections 4 takes place due to temperature changes, the road sections are permitted to move toward one another to reduce the space or void 30. With the expansion of the road sections, the anchoring shoes anchored 'to one section are moved toward the anchoring shoes of the adjacent section and loads from one section are transferred to the other through the anchoring shoes. Attention is also called to the fact that, with the expansion of the sections, the telescoping closure mechanism carried by the outermost anchoring shoe is operable to permit the plates l5 and 18 to slide over one another while the flange 20 connected or forming part of the plate i8 is adapted to slide inwardly in the void. It will thus be noted that with the expansion of the road section, the end of the void is maintained in closed position by the slidable plates l5 and i8. Another novel feature of the road joint forming mechanism is the provision of a removable core which temporarily carries angle members or supports which are adapted to be left partly embedded in the concrete sections of the road when the core parts are removed to leave a void between the concrete sections. The angle members left in the concrete are used for the support of a closure hood and a filler of plastic material as shown in Figure 6 of the drawings. The removal of the core parts permits said parts to be repeatedly re-used for forming additional voids in concrete roads or the like. It will, of course, be understood that when the core parts are re-used, additional angle members or supports are required for each of the joints to be formed since the angle supports are left in the concrete when the core parts are removed.

It will also be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention, and it is therefore not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than is necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A concrete construction joint former comprising a base section, a core unit removably supported thereby, and removable from the concrete construction to leave a void therein, and adjustable means carried by the base section'for closing an end of the core unit and an end of the void when the core unit is removed.

2. A concrete construction joint formercomprising a base section, a plurality of anchor units slidably mounted therein; a core unit removably supported by the anchor units and removable from the concrete construction to leave an expansion void therein, and an adjustable closure carried by one of the anchor units for closing one end of the core unit when in position and also serving as a closure for one end of the void left in. the concrete after the removal of the core unit.

3. A concrete construction joint former comprising a base section, an anchoring unit shiftably mounted therein, a core unit supported on said anchoring unit and means carried by the anchoring unit for closing one end of the core unit.

4. A concrete construction joint former comprising a base section, an anchoring unit movably engaged therewith, a core unit removably supported in the anchoring unit, and an adjustable closure means supported on the anchoring unit for closing one end of the core unit and retainable in position to close one end of the void resulting from the removal of the core unit from the concrete.

5. A concrete construction joint forming mechanism comprising in combination a base section, a plurality of anchoring devices movably engaged in the base section, a core unit supported on said anchoring devices, closure means carried by one of said anchoring devices for closing one end of the core unit, and anchoring means formed on said closure means to be embedded in concrete.

6. A concrete construction joint forming mechanism including in combination a base unit, a core'unit removably supported thereon for forming a void in concrete, and closure means carried by the base unit for closing one end of the core unit and for closing one end of the void when the core unit is removed.

7. A concrete construction joint forming mechanism comprising in combination a base unit, a core unit removably supported thereon, and an anchoring mechanism forming part of the base unit and comprising an angle member having anchoring means thereon, a main closure member secured to the angle member for closing one end of the core unit, and an auxiliary closure member movably engaged with the main closure member.

8. A concrete construction joint forming mechanism including in combination a base and a core unit supported thereon, an anchor shoe shiftably engaged in the base beneath the core unit, telescoping plates supported by the anchor shoe for closing one end of the core unit, and anchor means connected with one of said plates to assist in anchoring the anchor shoe in position when the joint forming mechanism is embedded in concrete.

9. A concrete construction joint former comprising a base section, a plurality of anchor members shiftably mounted therein, a core unit I removably supported by the anchor members and removable from the concrete construction to provide an expansion void therein, closure means carried by the base section for closing one end of the core unit when. the same is supported in the base section,'said closure means adapted to further serve as a closure for one end of the void resulting from the removal of the core unit from the concrete construction, supporting means temporarily carried by the core unit and remaining partially embedded in the concrete when the core unit is removed, a cap engaged on said supporting means, and a filler engaged in the space above the cap and between the sec tions of the concrete.

10. A concrete construction joint former comprising a base section, a core unit removably supported thereby and removable from the concrete construction to leave a void therein, supporting means carried by the core unit and releasable to remain partially embedded in the concrete when the core unit is removed, filler means supported on the supporting means to close the upper portion of the void, and closure means on the base section for closing one end of the core unit when the same is in position, and adapted to furthermore close one end of the void resulting from the removal of the core unit from the concrete construction.

11. A concrete construction joint forming mechanism comprising a base section having a plurality of staggered notches therein, a plurality of anchor members shiftably engaged in the base sectionand normally seated in said notches, and a core unit removably supported between said anchor members and serving to normally hold the anchoring members seated in the base section notches.

12. A road joint-former comprising a base having staggered notches therein, anchor shoes shiftably mounted in said base and a core unit supported on said anchoring shoes and serving to hold the anchoring shoes normally seated in said notches, said core unit comprising a pair of side plates, spacing members secured on the inner faces thereof, a cap for closing the upper end of the space between said plates, and a web plate depending from said cap and projecting downwardly between the spacing members to hold the plates properly spaced from one another.

13. A road joint former comprising in combination a base, and a core unit removably supported thereon, said core unit comprising a pair of plates supported by the base, spacing members secured to said plates and projecting inwardly, a closure cap engaged on the upper margins of the plates and a spacer plate in said cap and projecting downwardly therefrom between the spacing members to hold the core plates properly spaced with respect to one another.

14. A road joint former comprising in combination a base, a core unit removably supported thereon, said core unit comprising a pair of side plates, spacing means on said plates, a cap removably engaged on the upper margins of said plates, filler supporting members releasably supported on said plates by said cap, and a spacing member in said cap projecting downwardly between the core plates and between the spacing members thereof to hold the core plates spaced with respect to one another.

15. A road joint former comprising in combination a base, a void forming core unit removably supported thereon, means on said base for closing one end of the core unit, said core unit comprising a pair of plates, spacing members thereon, a cap removably engaged on the upper margins of said plates, and a depending web plate secured in said cap and projecting downwardly between the spacing members to hold the core plates spaced with respect to one another.

16. A void forming device for a concrete construction, said device comprising a pair of plates, spacing members secured on the innersides of said plates, a closure cap removably engaged on the upper margins of said plates and spanning the space therebetween, and a depending web in said closure cap projecting downwardly between the spacing members for holding the core plates spaced with respect to one another.

17. A road joint former comprising in combination a core unit for removable engagement in concrete, filler supporting members temporarily engaged with the core unit to remain in position core unit, and filler supporting means temporarily carried by the core unit to be left partially embedded in the concrete when the core unit is removed to serve as a support for filler members.

19. A road joint former comprising a plurality of spaced independent anchor units positioned in reversed staggered relation with respect to one another, a core unit removably supported on said anchor units and closure means carried by one of said anchor units for closing one end of the core unit to obviate the entrance of concrete into the core unit when the road joint is being formed. 20. A road joint former of the class described comprising a plurality of individual base sections positioned in reversed staggered relation with respect to one another, anchor members slidably engaged in said base sections and also positioned in reversed staggered relation with respect to one another, a collapsible core unit removably supported between said anchor members, and means for closing the core unit to obviate the entrance of concrete into the core unit during the forming of the road joint.

21. A concrete construction void forming device comprising a pair of plates, a closure cap engaged on the upper margins of said plates, a depending web forming a part of said cap projecting downwardly between the plates, and spacers on said plates and contacting opposite sides of the web.

22. A void forming device for a concrete construction, said device comprising a pair of plates having spacers thereon, a closure cap engaged on the upper margins of said plates, and a depending web secured in said cap projecting downwardly between the spacers to separate the plates.

23. A concrete construction joint forming mechanism including in combination an anchor unit comprising a socket member, an open base slidable therein, an open anchoring head, and members connecting the base and said anchoring head.

24. A concrete construction joint forming mechanism including in combination a base unit comprising a socket closed on four sides and at one end, and a shoe unit slidably engaged therein and formed out of a strap metal frame having intermediate parts thereof bent to leave the end bight portions disposed in different planes to form a base member and an anchoring member.

25. A concrete joint forming mechanism ineluding in combination a core unit open at both ends, an adjustable closure for closing one end of the core unit, and anchoring means former on said adjustable closure, said closure retainable in position after the removal of the core unit to serve as a void closure which' is adjustable with the expansion and contraction of the concrete sections due to temperature changes.

26. In a road joint forming mechanism a hollow core unit, and means positioned transversely across one end of the core unit for closing one end thereof and retainable in the concrete to 29. A road joint former comprising a base, a'

hollow core unit thereon, and telescoping members for closing said core unit, one of said members being connected to the base.

30. A road joint former including in combination, a hollow core unit, and adjustable telescoping means for closing an end thereof, said means comprising a plate having a flange thereon provided with an anchoring blade, and a pocket member slidably engaged on said plate.

31. A concrete construction joint former com- 4 prising a base, an anchoring unit thereon, a core means on said anchoring unit, and slidably interfitting members connected with the anchoring unit and'adjustable with respect to one another for closing an end of the core unit.

ROBERT R. ROBERTSON. 

